From the Echo TWO new developments are about to go up in Southend. The sites will provide affordable homes for families, and accommodation to help vulnerable people respectively. Southend Council has joined up with the Guinness Trust to build 48 affordable homes on land at Southchurch Road on the former Maybrook Training Centre and Burland House site. They were built in the 1960s and closed by January 2006. The Guinness Trust acquired the land and in 2013 was granted planning permission for 22 two and three bedroom flats, and 26 three bedroom houses for Southend families. Following the demolition of an old sub-station, the cleared Southchurch site is now all ready for construction. Elsewhere the former Shelford residential care site in West Street, Westcliff, is being turned into a supported living development for adults with learning disabilities. This includes building new modern facilities to replace Saxon Lodge, a ten bed Council residential care home in Shoebury. The council teamed up with Genesis Housing Association to mastermind the scheme and planning permission was granted in January 2012. This ambitious new development, now nearing completion, has also incorporated a set of almshouses next door - St Mary’s Cottages - originally built in 1870. These have been thoroughly refurbished and re-modelled inside to make them fit for purpose while preserving their historic importance.

The £2million West Street project will offer three four-bed supported houses, 13 independent living flats and three one-bed bungalows and the first tenants are expected to start moving in by early summer. Affinity Trust has been appointed to provide on-site care and support. Southend Council’s executive councillor for adult social care, health and housing, councillor Lesley Salter said: “We are delighted that these two key sites are generating a variety of much-needed homes for Southend residents. “Both schemes will help people flourish as well as reviving the sites themselves, these projects have been developed thanks to highly successful partnership working with the agencies involved and across the council too.”